The Fifth Marauder
by NikyLam
Summary: The adventures of Scarlet Vine, James Potter's cousin, as she roams the halls of Hogwarts as the fifth Marauder. Rated T for violence.
1. Chapter 1

"Bye Mum, bye Dad." I said, kissing Mums cheek. Dad rumpled my silky black hair. Scowling, I ran my fingers through it to smooth it out again.

"Bye Tigger." Said Dad, referring to the nickname he had given me as a toddler. He said I was practically bouncing off the walls.

"Love you, Scarlet!" Said Mum. She handed me a sickle. "Get a treat for yourself." She whispered with a wink.

"Thanks Mum!" I said. I took my trunk and Vera, my owl, and skipped off to the train.

I was interrupted with a shove. "Hey cuz."  
I looked up at James with a grin. "Hey! Give me a hand, will you?" Smiling, he helped me lug my trunk into the train.

We made our way into an empty compartment and settled in. Soon we were joined by none other than…

"PADFOOT!"  
"PRONGS!"

I laughed as James and Sirius greeted each other. "I seriously just watched you guys together like an hour ago." I said.

They ignored me and continued their antics. I buried my head into a book.

"MOONY! WORMTAIL!"

I looked up, slightly annoyed. "Thank you for your announcement of their arrival to _the entire train."_

"Pleasure." Sirius said. "But, we now have some business to discuss with you."

I raised my eyebrows.

James cleared his throat. "We want to make you a Marauder."  
I looked at them in shock. "Uh… you want to make me a Marauder."  
"That's what I just said."  
"Whoa."

Sure, I had always hung around Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs, but, wow. I mean, the Marauders were Elite. This wasn't normal. I had heard them doing their thing, with their codes and rules and stuff. They were tight knit.

Remus took out a piece of parchment.. It had four names signed in red ink: Prongs, Padfoot, Moony, Wormtail. He shoved it my way.

"Whoa, guys. You sure?" I asked.

"Yup!" Said James. "I mean, you practically have been a Marauder for the past four years, we're just making it official. He handed my a quill and ink. I signed the page: Tigger."

Sirious laughed. "Tigger it is!" I blushed.

James got serious again. "Now, we let you in on some secrets." Genuinely curious, I leaned in.

"Well." Sirius said. "We-"

"Muffliato!" I said.

"Yes. Well. We… James, Peter, and I…"

"Are animagi." I said smugly. "Remus is a werewolf. You have a map that shows you the entire school and everone in it. James has an invisibility cloak."

They all stared at me for a couple minutes. The looks on their faces… priceless!

"How…"

"When…"

"Merlin, Tigger!" Sirius shouted.

I smiled. "I've known since third year." I said.

"She's a Marauder indeed! Sirius said. "Wanna be one.?"  
I took a double take. "An animagus. Me. Become one."

"James said, "Stop it guys. She's new."

I just sort of stare at all of them. This year would be very different.

 _ **Hi guys! This is the first time I have written a fanfic, so bear with me. I am sorry for how short this chapter is! I will post another one ASAP. PLEASE REVIEW! Thanks. XOXO**_


	2. Chapter 2

The rest of the train ride was very normal. When the trolley came by, I bought some Bertie Botts every flavor beans, and we all played a game of dare. I swear there was one flavored with cow pies…

By the time we arrived at the castle, we were all a bit restless. Sirius and I played a bit of tag on the way to the carriage, to the annoyance of many of our fellow fifth years. I reached the carriage first, and slammed into it owing to my inability to stop in time. I clambered in, followed by Sirius, James, Remus, and a puffing and rather red-faced Peter.

"Peter, how was your summer?" I asked kindly. He hadn't spoken much on the train.

"Wormtail." James corrected.

"Fine." He mumbled.

Sirius rolled his eyes. Chuckling, I leaned back in my seat and took in the beautiful scene. The windows of Hogwarts glittered like a thousand fireflies as they pierced the darkness of the newfound night. The lake reflected the stately castle in a perfect mirror image, except where the ripples of the first years in their boats sent ripples out from the sides in a large V.

My thoughts were interrupted with a cold, slimy ice cube sliding down the back of my shirt. I shrieked and whipped around, casting the first spell I could think of.

" _Expelliarmus!"_ I yelled. "Merlin, guys!"

The Marauders just about died laughing. Well, Peter didn't, he was who I hit, and he looked rather unhappy about it.

The Great Hall was warm and bustling, with a ceiling of twinkling stars. Dumbledore, surprisingly, made eye contact with me and winked knowingly. Hmmm.

The Sorting was very fun, with most of the new students being Gryffindoors. Then Dumbledore gave his little speech ("Dig in!") And the food appeared. Merlin, it was good. When we thought we just couldn't eat anything more, dessert appeared. Fullness forgotten, we proceeded to stuff our faces with puddings and cakes galore.

I somehow lugged my overloaded self up to the dormitories, where I said goodnight to my gossiping roommates and fell into a blissful sleep.

Two weeks later, I thought I would drown in work. With O.W.L.S. on the way, our teachers were piling on the homework like never before. As I sat in a cozy armchair writing about the properties of dragon blood, Sirius sprung a long dormant question on me.

"Whatcha think about being an animagus, Tigger?" He said nonchalantly.

"Uhhh…" I mused. "Well, actually…"

"PRONGS! 2 GALLEONS!" He bellowed. Rolling my eyes, I returned to my parchment.

"Really, it isn't too hard. If we can help you, it will probably happen quick." He continued. I thought about this. I mean, I guess it had always been a dream of mine. But it was supposed to be immensely difficult, and could go terribly wrong. I shuddered at the thought. But the boys had done it, hadn't they? And here they were, human and unmutated. Really, it could be great. But what would I be? Hmmm…

"Tigger?" James said.

"Mhph." I replied, still immersed in my paper.

"We could start tonight."

My head snapped up. "You guys don't dawdle, do you?" I laughed. "Give me at least a week to think."

"But.-" Sirius began.

"It's already been so long!" James whined.

 _These boys._ I thought.

"Well…" I began cautiously. "I could research it in the library. And then tell you."

Apparently satisfied, they left.

I became immersed in thought. It was so strange how suddenly the Marauders had decided to welcome me into their little cult. I was rather tempted. I would research it and then decide, I thought.

Watching James attempt to woo Lilly was entertaining. He loved her, she hated him. He came to me so often for love advice, and every time she rejected him he talked to me. It was funny and sad at the same time. I tried my best to give him good advice.

Today was an especially pathetic attempt. James approached Lilly with a newly written poem:

"Lilly, you are the most beautiful flower,

And-"

She left before he even got to the good part. Poor James. He tried too hard. I shrugged and headed to the library.

 **Hi guys! So, Chapter Two is a bit longer than One. I am homeschooled so I will try to write a new chapter every day, but no guaruntees. I know that a friend of mine *cough* Percy! *cough* doesn't like Scarlet, but I will just keep her the same and build her personality. Please review! Constructive criticism drooled over! ;) XOXO See you guys!**


End file.
